‘Pressure Cooker’: Discontent Rises in Venezuela Military as Economy Dives

The coup plot by disgruntled Venezuelan military officers in March was audacious: Seize control of the capital’s military bases, arrest President Nicolás Maduro and install a provisional government to replace his authoritarian regime. To avoid detection for a year, conspiring officers eschewed phone calls, texts and emails, and instead sent messages via couriers, said an Army captain who helped plan the thwarted coup. They plotted during seemingly impromptu soccer matches. Before they could act, though, Mr. Maduro’s intelligence services discovered the plot—described by military analysts as the most serious to date against his government. Authorities quickly arrested nine of the rebel officers , including the head of the largest armored battalion in the capital, and Mr. Maduro’s former interior minister. As Mr. Maduro runs for re-election on Sunday , discontent in the barracks is at an all-time high, current and former military officers say. Shortages of food, evaporating […]